Westminster's Janelle Branch Was on Team USATF's Staff at the World U20 Championships

Janelle Branch, head men's and women's cross country and track & field coach at Westminster, was on Team USATF's staff at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships, held August 5-9 in Eugene, Oregon. USA Track & Field's team announcement lists her as one of three event managers, alongside Jess Riden and Morgan Goodwin.

Before she coached, Branch led emergency-response teams aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. Before Westminster, she coached record-setting runners at the University of Utah.

The team she joined

USA Track & Field named 89 athletes to the U20 team. Carmelita Jeter was named head coach for sprints and hurdles, with Andrew Bloom coaching throws, Marissa Chew jumps and multi-events, and Milton Mallard distance. The staff list also included three logistics contractors, a seven-person medical staff with a sport psychologist, and the three event managers.

The championships returned to the United States for the first time since 2014, when Hayward Field in Eugene also hosted the event, according to USATF. The meet streamed live on Peacock from August 5 to 9.

Westminster's staff profile of Branch says she would serve as team manager for the U20 World Championships. USATF's announcement, the official staff list for the team, gives her title as event manager.

The résumé behind the assignment

Branch chairs the Athletes' Commission of USA Track & Field, according to her Westminster profile.

Her own athletic career runs deep. Branch is a two-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, a 10-time USATF national qualifier and the 2024 U.S. Indoor National runner-up, and she was a seven-time NAIA All-American at Cornerstone University.

Before coaching, Branch served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), where she led emergency-response teams and trained personnel in safety protocols.

The Utah connection

Branch's path runs through Utah's own track program. Before Westminster, she was an assistant coach at the University of Utah, where she developed mid-distance runners and supported the sprints, hurdles and jumps groups. Her athletes there accounted for 17 school records, 36 top-10 program marks and NCAA Division I national qualifiers, according to her Westminster profile.

She also brought an academic standard with her. Utah's 2025 group posted the highest team GPA in the nation at 3.813, with 15 USTFCCCA All-Academic honorees.

Earlier, she directed cross country and distance programs at Clarke University and at Westminster Schools of Augusta, according to her profile. Branch holds a Master of Public Administration from Indiana University and a bachelor's degree in international business from Cornerstone, and she is USATF Level II certified in endurance, sprints, hurdles and relays.

Back at Westminster this fall

Branch is in her second year leading both Westminster cross country programs. The 2026 rosters are small and young: seven women, and 10 men, seven of whom are freshmen or sophomores. The Griffins hosted teams from Utah, Colorado and Idaho for 5K races at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City on September 10. Freshman Joaquin Stultz of Sandy led the men in sixth place in 16:03.18. Junior Eileen O'Connor was the first Westminster woman across the line, 12th in 19:39.42, according to the official recap. Sophomore Sonya Brunner was 14th in 20:02.22, and freshman Kaja Wilcox of Salt Lake City was 17th in 20:19.37. On the men's side, freshman Coen Whitney was 12th in 16:14.86.

The official schedule continues with the Charles Bowles Invitational in Salem, Oregon, on October 3, a return to Sugar House Park for the Utah Open on October 15 and the RMAC Championship in Rapid City, South Dakota, on November 7. The NCAA Division II Championships are November 21 in Lubbock, Texas.

Both teams have Beehive Athletes pages that track results and fixtures from the official schedule: women's cross country and men's cross country.

Key facts:

• Coach: Janelle Branch, head men's and women's cross country and track and field coach at Westminster
• Assignment: one of three event managers on Team USATF's staff at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships, August 5-9, Eugene, Oregon
• The team: 89 athletes; head coach for sprints and hurdles Carmelita Jeter; first U20 World Championships in the U.S. since 2014
• Governance role: Chair of the USA Track & Field Athletes' Commission
• As an athlete: two-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, 10-time USATF national qualifier, 2024 U.S. Indoor National runner-up, seven-time NAIA All-American
• Utah tie: former University of Utah assistant (17 school records; Utah's 2025 team had the nation's highest GPA at 3.813)
• Before coaching: U.S. Navy, led emergency-response teams aboard the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)
• 2026 season: Westminster hosted its cross country home meet at Sugar House Park on September 10

*Correction, September 22, 2026: An earlier version of this article described Branch as Team USA's team manager. USA Track & Field's team announcement lists her as one of three event managers. The earlier version also described her as in Eugene "this week" after the championships had ended, and included characterizations of the assignment that no source supported. Those passages have been removed.*